Are you the DBA going to the interview or are you doing the interviewing?

Search for 'sql server DBA interview questions' on google.

One question that I ask that hardly anyone gets right and really seperates out DBAs is 'what are the ACID properties of a transaction?' Maybe just ask what does ACID mean and see what they answer, if the say anything about transactions.

The last interview I had the technical part was a practical test as they had had people cheat before by learning common questions and then when they get the job they can't do it, I had to fix a SQL Server that wouldn't start, backup files, install SSRS, move databases etc.

If it's a production DBA role be sure to know the things that ps mentioned above, especially questions like:

Name the system databases? (don't forget on this on to mention the resource database in 2005 for extra credit)How would you troubleshoot a slow running query/slow running server? (you can really go for it here as it's a bit of a general question so be sure to mention all the sql tools you can think of plus which part of windows you would use and which counters are best)What jobs would you run for maintenance?What is the difference between clusted and nonclustered index?

The list is endless, you'd better search on google, there are some sites with some quite good questions on.

Best advice I can give you for an interview is relax, don't exagerate your abilities and don't be afraid to say 'I don't know', though have an idea how to find out. A good interviewer can easily tell if someone's memorised interview questions off the internet or if they really know what they're talking about.

Simply studying questions is no way to prepare. We use a set of screening questions which are meant to weed people out. They're not the interview. The interview will involve two or three DBA's asking you all kinds of questions revolving around their own exerpertise and knowledge as a way to delineate the limits, if any, of yours. Knowing the answers to a few questions won't help when the real discussion starts.